


Maybe that's just fine

by fizumono



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb, M/M, Post-Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-18 11:18:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4704152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fizumono/pseuds/fizumono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Soon, all this will be lost to the sea…and found. A post-313 fix-it after the event of The Wrath of the Lamb.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fate and circumstance Side A

**Author's Note:**

> “Fate has a habit of not letting us choose our own endings.”
> 
> A post-313 fix-it.

A sharp pain bursts in Hannibal’s chest as he draws his first breath. He coughs violently, tongue tasting the coarse wet sand in the shallow water he is lying in. White light filters through his eyelashes. It is warm. No, not warm, his entire body feels like it is on fire. Pain, is something Hannibal is familiar with.

Pain reminds us we are alive. 

Hannibal’s body jerks as his brain transitions the body to wakefulness. He tries to move his right hand but he is unable to. There is something clasping his wrist tightly. 

They are Will’s fingers. 

Fingers as cold as ice.

“Will!” An unfamiliar choking panic rises in his throat. Hannibal gathers all the strength he has, instinctively reaches for the pulse point on Will’s neck, and his hand tugged on Will’s wrist like a child. 

Hannibal’s fingers sense a faint pulse just when Will makes a soft groaning noise. The younger man flickers his eyelashes.  
Hannibal quickly raises his hand to shield Will’s eyes from the morning light. 

Will turns his face to the left slowly with a frown, his entire being clearly as sore as Hannibal's. Blue eyes meets brown in a frozen stare through half dried strands of chocolate curls. Hannibal gently brushes away dried blood and sand caked around the stab wound on Will’s face.

“Hello, Will.” 

“Hello, Hannibal.” Will muttered, his voice as strained as Hannibal’s. 

Hannibal can’t help the smile that reveals the tip of his razor sharp canine teeth. Will feels a squeeze from Hannibal’s palm and he looks at their still linked hands.

Fate has a habit of not letting us choose our own endings. Will sighs loudly with a defeated laugh. 

This time, maybe, just maybe – maybe it will all be fine.

This is not The End.


	2. Fate and circumstance Side B

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The chase to end all time."

Time is a strange thing. 

When a teacup drops, you can do nothing but to watch it shatters. Sometimes it feels like a fast forward sequence, where it happens and ends in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it feels like a slow motion dream, every detail of the broken pieces vividly witnessed and remembered. 

Time slows down the moment Will loops his arm around Hannibal's neck. Will feels a stab to his heart when Hannibal nuzzles and relaxes into him like a touch-starved child. The man inhales deeply, taking in his scent one last time. 

_"Did you just smell me?"_

Will releases a silent sob.

_"Put your head back. Close your eyes. Wade into the quiet of the stream."_

And then he closes his eyes.

—

Everything happens so fast afterwards that time seems to have accelerated. Will's brain registers only fragments of the tumbling sky in his eyes and the deafening wind in his ears during their long fall. 

Fear shoots up his spine as icy water engulfs Hannibal and him. Will's entire body is on fire upon touching the icy Atlantic water, a sharp cry of agony from Hannibal rings in the background for he has shielded Will from the impact as much as he can manage. At one point the pain must be too much to bear that Will loses his strength to struggle further. He feels himself ripped forcefully away from Hannibal's death grip in the swirling current.

"Will!" Hannibal's distant voice echoes in his ears.

So this is it, this is the end. Will allows himself to be swallowed whole by the endless pit of velvet smooth darkness. 

"See you on the other side, Hannibal."

—

_"Tick-Tock-Boom."_

Will hears faint sounds of a clock ticking. The clock is slowing down, seconds turning to minutes, and then it stops entirely. The constant passage of time comes to a halt. In the absolute silence, Will feels safe and sound. 

Then, the tick-tock starts again. 

_"Time did reverse. The teacup that I shattered did come together..."_

Hannibal's soft voice ringing in Will's ears feels distant and foreign and familiar. Faster and faster, time returns to its normal pace. 

The even ticking soon evolves and becomes constant soothing noise of distant waves and flowing water as Will's consciousness resurfaces. Will opens his eyes, utterly puzzled by the dull blue surrounding and the feeling of waves sweeping over him. His whole body shivers violently while his lungs burns as he coughs uncontrollably after drawing a breath. 

The moment he manages to steady himself, Will's mind searches for Hannibal. The older man is lying unconscious at a distance from him. Will drags himself towards Hannibal. He checks for a breathing and feels for his pulse, there are none.

"Hannibal!" Will's breaths quicken as he panics. He places the heel of his shaking hands on the centre of Hannibal's chest and he feels tears welling up behind his eyes while he keeps count of the chest compressions in his heart. 

_"I'm curious whether either of us can survive separation."_

"No!" A burst of adrenaline rushes in Will's veins. Without hesitation, he tilts Hannibal's head back, pinches his nose close and lifts his chin up. He drew a deep, shuddering breath before covering Hannibal's mouth with his own. After four strong breaths, Will puts his ear near Hannibal's mouth and his eyes trained intently on Hannibal's chest, desperately looking for any signs of breathing. 

"Hannibal, please..." Will repeats the cycle over and over until the burning sensation welling up within overwhelms him completely. Dizziness and disorientation kick in, then the shivering stops. Will feels his consciousness slipping away, his hand frantically reaches out to grasp Hannibal's wrist with the last of his energy, hoping to miraculously feel a pulse. The feverish darkness devours him before he feels anything at all.

—

Morning light breaks through the cold clouds as Hannibal jerks awake beside Will's collapsed body. He coughs up water and gasps, choking on his first full breath. Slow waves licks at their wounds and the shallow water surrounding the two men is eventually dyed dull red.

_"Blood rituals involve a symbolic death - and then a rebirth."_


	3. Fairy tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What does walking away leave us? — Each other.”

In the dark, a match is struck. The flickering flame lights a white candle in front of a samurai commander armour seated on raised platform, whiffs of white smoke drifts in the air. Orange light reflected from the polished surface of the armour dances on the walls. Chiyoh traces the outline of the iron mask with tired eyes.

"This is where I pray for you, Hannibal, and I strongly recommend you pray for yourself." Chiyoh has not forgotten how gentle Lady Murasaki's voice was. She bows her head at the altar for a moment. 

At the far end of the room, a stack of newspaper is waiting to be destroyed next to the fireplace. Chiyoh walks over and picks them up one by one.

**_TOOTH FAIRY'S REIGN OF TERROR ENDS - MASSIVE AIR-SEA SEARCH FOR MISSING HANNIBAL 'THE CANNIBAL' AND EX-FBI AGENT_ **

**_DISTURBING LEAKED CCTV FOOTAGE SHOWS SHOCKING END FOR HANNIBAL 'THE CANNIBAL', FBI REFUSES TO COMMENT_ **

On the front page there is an enlarged blurry photo of a screen capture from the said 'leaked' CCTV footage, featuring the moment Will Graham pushes Hannibal Lecter off the cliff. Chiyoh pauses, she looks at the blurry photo one last time before tossing the paper into the flames. 

**_SEARCH ENDS FOR MISSING DRAGON SLAYERS, ESCAPED HANNIBAL 'THE CANNIBAL' AND EX-FBI AGENT PRESUMED DEAD_**

She does not blink as the fire consumes the beasts. 

Some beasts shouldn't be caged. 

_"If you don't kill him, you're afraid you are going to become him." — "Yes."_

—

 _"I guess this is my Becoming."_

Will lays his head down on the ground in cold anticipation. All sounds seem to have faded, and his mind drifts. He feels that his eidetic memory is slipping, for he can only remember fragments of what happened after the fall. 

_  
Hannibal resting his forehead against his briefly after he opens his eyes._

_The grey sky above._

_The strange foreign words Hannibal whispered in his ear._

_The razor sharp tips of his canine teeth revealed as he grinned predatorily._

_The uncomfortable mixed smell of salt and sand, blood and sweat._

_Hannibal's gentle fingers as he examines his wounds._

_The laboured breathing as they support each other to stand upright._

_The tremor in Hannibal hands due to his own pain and exhaustion._

_And Hannibal's damned effort trying to contain the pain and hide it from him...  
_

They are mostly about Hannibal. Witnessing such outward display of emotion from Hannibal is something new to Will, and his mind appears quite eager to catalogue them. 

"Will, stay with me!" Will opened his eyes to find Hannibal's concerned face over him, the sulky expression endearing, but slightly hilarious.

"I can do this alone, Will." It is getting progressively hard for Will to concentrate on Hannibal's words, his body is shivering again and he can't feel his right hand. They need to find shelter from the cold, they need to disinfect their wounds, they need to stop the bleeding, They need to get to safety - fast. They need to survive. 

"Hannibal, you worry too much." Will slurs, at least he can be useful as bait. If anything unfortunate happens, Hannibal can live and escape. 

"Will." Hannibal is considering picking Will up when the sound of an approaching engine alerts them both. Will gives Hannibal a pointed look, signals him to hide with his large blue eyes. 

Hannibal sighs, he moves swiftly behind one of the large roadside bushes, predatory eyes darting back and forth between Will and the approaching black car. The car slows and stops as the driver realises there is a body lying in the middle of the road. 

"Sir? Are you alright?" The man kneels beside Will. Upon seeing the bloodstains, the man reaches into his pocket for his phone instinctively. "Jesus!"

"I'm sorry." The moment Will opens his eyes and whispers, Hannibal snaps the man's neck cleanly from behind. 

Will checks the vehicle thoroughly while Hannibal leaves and disposes of the body with practised familiarity. There is a wool coat in the backseat, Will quickly wraps himself in it with one hand. He sighs contently at the warmth. The coat smells vaguely of alcohol, and dog. 

He will miss his dogs terribly, Will's face darkens with grief. 

Hannibal returns dressing in the flannel shirt and cargo pants from the dead man. He walks up to Will, holding a knitted cap and scarf in his hands. Hannibal puts the knitted cap on Will's head mischievously. Will smiles with a frown. He snatches the scarf before Hannibal can put it on him, and loops it around Hannibal's neck instead. 

"You don't have to take care of me, you know." Will complains half-jokingly. 

Hannibal shrugs, but grins affectionately. He proceeds to help Will put the coat on properly, his eyes lingering on on Will's wounds while buttoning it up. The bleeding has mostly stops for now, but they feel feverish. Their wounds need to be treated as soon as possible. Hannibal urges Will into the passenger seat, then fastens his seatbelt with utmost care, avoid worsening the stab wound. 

Hannibal slides into driver's seat with grace despite his injury. He picks up a pair of shades from the dashboard and put them on. Will has never seen Hannibal wearing sunglasses, he chuckles silently. Once his body starting to warm up, Will appears more at ease.

"I hope you won't be very ugly yourself, Will." The glare Will sends Hannibal is a silent “Screw you.”, but he cannot help but consciously readjusts the beanie to cover the gore on the right side of his face. The corners of Hannibal's eyes crinkle when his grin widens. 

"Let's get rolling." 

Hannibal starts the engine. 

—

The scenery passes in a blur as the car accelerates. With the low hum of the radio, Will lays his head back and starts to dose off. 

The instance Will wakes up again, he panics, for he is alone in the car. Raindrops are hitting fiercely on the car window. Will tries to look beyond the fogged windowpane into the darkened street, searches frantically for clues to his whereabouts. He is startled when suddenly one of the doors is opened. Hannibal climbs into the car and huffs out a breath, crunching his nose up slightly. He brushes back his soaked hair as he places a bag onto the backseat. He put some changes back to the glove compartment.

"The house has been found," Hannibal pops open a bottle of aspirin, shakes out a few, then washes them down with water methodologically. He hands Will the water, his pills, and a chocolate bar. "And the Dragon."

Will notices Hannibal is breathing hard, his face pale with agony. 

"Let me drive, Hannibal." Hannibal avoids Will's eyes. 

"No." He keeps one hand hovering over his shot wound and starts the engine. 

On the radio, soft symphony music has been replaced by bad reception of a sharp impersonal voice, the wind in the background indicates the reporter is broadcasting live, very likely right outside Hannibal's house. 

"...Authorities refuse to comment on whether they're treating the death of Francis Dolarhyde as a suicide or a homicide. Massive sea, air search continues for the missing BSHCI inmate Hannibal Lecter and Former FBI Agent Will Graham despite bad weather...."

Will notices there is no mention of manhunt on land. "Jack has watched the CCTV footage." 

Hannibal has activated all surveillance cameras within the parameter of his property before the Dragon made his grand entrance, there are at least two of them facing cliffside. The surveillance videos are intended to be found. 

Hannibal wants to let Jack see to his end, Will's end, _their_ end. It is Hannibal's final gift to Jack. 

"So it seems, yes." The windshield wipers are making a screeching sound, Hannibal winces internally. "Not exactly a fairy-tale ending for Uncle Jack, was it? But it was close."

Will stares at Hannibal, he licks his lips. 

"I actually intended to end both of us." Will says in a low voice.

"I know." Hannibal focuses on the road ahead. "It was a beautiful design, Will."

All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on Tumblr too :D [@vulcanplomeeksoup](http://vulcanplomeeksoup.tumblr.com) Come chat with me about Hannibal !


End file.
